Race to the Top - OverviewBy: Nicole Oakley, Shawna Shepherd, & Jill Gaff










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Found from google images

People who are highly educated will have the better jobs. Education is a very important part of the economy. Education is very essential, no matter where you live in the world. This is why it is so important that schools start paying more attention to ALL students performance. Schools need to start tracking teacher performance to make better teachers. Schools need to have higher expectations of ALL students. In Arne Duncan states in the speech- The Race To The Top Begins, "The 4.35 billion dollar Race to the Top program that we are unveiling today is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the federal government to create incentives for far-reaching improvement in our nation's schools." (www.ed.gov, 2009)

President Obama Discusses New 'Race to the Top' Program:

Q "Your predecessor was famously identified with the phrase that summed up his education agenda, No Child Left Behind. And it could be explained in a single sentence -- "Test all students every year to hold schools accountable for closing achievement gaps." What phrase could sum up your education agenda? And if you had to pick it, what single sentence could explain it?"

THE PRESIDENT: "We want to challenge all the stakeholders -- parents, teachers, unions, school administrators -- to not only raise standards, but make the changes that are required to actually meet those standards, by having the best teachers and principals, by having the kind of data collection that tells us whether improvements are actually happening, and tying student achievement to assessments of teachers, by making sure that there's a focus on low-performing schools, by making sure that the standards that have been set are ones that mean a kid who graduates can compete at the international level. Now, I know that's a very long sentence, but I got it in there."


(Interview found at:http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/23/AR2009072302938.html)

Who- First round winners are Delaware and Tennessee

-Second round grants were awarded to the following ten states the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, and Rhode Island.

What- Race to the Top (RTTT) is a U.S. Department of Education program funded with American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) ($4.35 billion)

  • The program covers a four-year period and targets the following reform areas:• Great teachers and leaders• High-quality standards and assessments• Turning around the lowest-performing schools• Using data to improve instruction




When- Race to the Top was put into action in June 2009 by President Obama. This was done to improve student and overall school performances in the United States.(http://thetartan.org/2011/2/28/forum/race_to_top)

Why- Race to the Top was mainly transpired to support districts that are focused on comprehension planning of raising set standards, to help improve the effectiveness of facilitators (teachers, principals, councilors), and evaluate data to make a difference for schools.

How- Schools submit applications with their strong plans for their reform. The Department of Education will then select applicants and grant them funding. The funding is mainly coming from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. There is about 4 billion dollars available for select applicants. Obama has also recently anticipated a set 1.35 billion dollars to go towards this project.

Chart Found at: www.2.ed.gov

Category 1—$350-700 million
California, Texas, New York, Florida
Category 2—$200-400 million
Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, New Jersey
Category 3—$150-250 million
Virginia, Arizona, Indiana, Washington, Tennessee, Massachusetts, Missouri, Maryland, Wisconsin
Category 4—$60-175 million
Minnesota, Colorado, Alabama, Louisiana, South Carolina, Puerto Rico, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Oregon, Connecticut, Utah, Mississippi, Iowa, Arkansas, Kansas, Nevada
Category 5—$20-75 million
New Mexico, Nebraska, Idaho, West Virginia, New Hampshire, Maine, Hawaii, Rhode Island, Montana, Delaware, South Dakota, Alaska, North Dakota, Vermont, Wyoming, District of Columbia







Lopez, N. (n.d.) Race to the top summary. Colorado Association of School Boards. Retrieved from http://www.casb.org/legislative-info/Race-to-the-Top-Summary.


Duncan, A. (2009). Race to the top has unique role to play in reforming schools for the future. Retrieved from http://www.ed.gov/blog/2010/09/race-to-the-top-has-unique-role-to-play-in-reforming-schools-for-the-future/

http://www.ed.gov/category/program/race-top-fund

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/23/AR2009072302938.html

www.ed.gov